


Troubles

by phoenixnz



Series: The Chronicles of Martha and Jonathan [25]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Episode Related, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 20:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15870753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixnz/pseuds/phoenixnz
Summary: Jonathan and Martha argue over financial problems





	Troubles

**Author's Note:**

> From Redux

  
“I’m sorry, Jonathan, but you’re not the only one around here who’s behind on their payments. I just can’t give it to you.”

Jonathan sighed, trying to think of a way to convince Andy to let them have an extension on their credit so they could pay their feed bill. They were already three months behind and it didn’t look like it was going to get any better. 

He returned home and began looking through the farm accounts, hoping there was something he might have missed. Some way to get them out of this pickle they were in. 

Martha had the afternoon off from work at Luthorcorp. Lionel had a board meeting in Metropolis and had told her he didn’t need her, so she was taking advantage of the time off to bake some muffins, hoping to sell them locally. 

Jonathan wasn’t exactly happy that she’d taken the job with Lionel. He still didn’t trust the man, and probably never would. It didn’t help that whenever the billionaire was around his wife, Jonathan got the sense that the man was interested in her in a more than boss/assistant way. 

He’d tried to be reasonable about it, knowing they needed the money, especially because the man was blind, but it was beginning to get on his nerves.

The kitchen was filled with a delicious aroma as the muffins baked in the oven. He could smell the spices Martha used; the sweet scent of apples and honey. It reminded him of his childhood, when he’d come home from school to that same smell and his mother had been baking. Martha was just as good at it – in some ways better. 

It reminded him of the good times when Clark had been little. Of sharing freshly-baked cookies with his small son. Of lazy summer afternoons when he and his little boy would be out in the barn, sharing manly secrets over the treat.

Clark came in as Martha began talking about selling her goods at local stores. Jonathan sighed as he continued to look over the accounts, trying to create some sort of budget so they could at least pay something toward what they owed. He didn’t really like talking about their financial problems in front of his son. Clark had enough to worry about with his developing abilities and his high school classes. He didn’t need to hear about this. 

Then Martha suggested the one thing he would never do. It was as if the ‘cone of silence’ had suddenly dropped down, like on that tv show he’d watched as a child. The kitchen went eerily quiet as he looked at his wife. She didn’t look happy as he conveyed exactly what he thought of that suggestion. 

He knew Martha talked to her father occasionally, but had never invited him to the farm. They’d told him about Clark after the adoption, but fearing that the boy would not be able to control his abilities in front of his grandfather, had said due to the circumstances that it was best if he didn’t come to see his grandson. They had no idea what the old man would have done had he known the truth. 

William and Mary had moved to Coast City when the old man had decided to retire from his law practice. 

As much as he’d wanted Clark to have a relationship with his grandfather, that just wasn’t going to happen. They just didn’t want to take the chance. Besides, William had probably never changed from the sanctimonious jerk he’d always been.

After Clark went out to the barn to work on his homework, Martha again brought it up. 

“Absolutely not!” he said.

She really hated her husband’s stubbornness sometimes. He’d always dig his heels in, even when he was wrong.

“Well, I don’t see any other way out of this, do you? We both know there isn’t enough money to keep the farm going. If we’re not careful, we could lose everything.”

“I am not going to ask that man for help. Not after everything he did!”

“You’re hardly one to throw stones, Jonathan, considering you hit him.”

He glared at her and she stepped back, hating the look on his face. She knew Jonathan didn’t like her father, especially for the way the man had acted, but there was no need for such venom. It had been twenty years, for goodness’ sake. 

She’d wanted Clark to have a relationship with his grandfather. She knew he’d tried calling her father when he was eleven, but the old man had never returned the call. She guessed he was a little surprised to hear from his only grandson and was probably bitter that he’d never been able to visit. 

She had to admit she’d been surprised that her father had even bothered to send them something every Christmas, but she guessed her mother would have had something to do with that.

As much as she hated doing it, the last thing she wanted was for the bank to foreclose on the property. Jonathan would just have to get over his issues with her father, she decided.

She called her father’s number. It went straight to voicemail.

“Hi Dad, it’s Martha.” Well, obviously, she thought. “I know it’s been a while since we’ve talked, and I really hate to ask, but the farm is having some financial difficulties.” She bit her lip, trying not to burst into tears. It was worse, far worse than ‘financial difficulties’. “Anyway, I expect you and Mom are busy, but I would like to talk to you.”

God, she hated having to go to her father for money, but she didn’t see any other way. She could still remember the final argument they’d had before she had got married. He’d told her not to come crawling back to him if her marriage to ‘that farmer’ didn’t work out. It had been different for his generation, she thought. He’d married someone who fit in with his image of the perfect wife. 

So what if he’d wanted her to go to law school instead of marrying a farmer? She’d chosen this life and she was happy. Sure, it wasn’t an easy life by any means. A hard year in their crops meant less income and having to beg for government handouts wasn’t exactly easy, but she loved Jonathan. Even if he wasn’t exactly happy with her at the moment.

She knew part of the problem was the fact that she worked for Lionel. He hated the man and was even more uneasy about Clark being friends with the man’s son. Martha tried not to get in the middle of the constant arguments over Lex. She felt sorry for the boy in many ways. He’d had to grow up far too fast and that made him arrogant, but she had sensed many a time that what that young man needed more than anything was love. 

She wondered if Lex would reconsider the business plan he’d offered them the year before. Jonathan would never accept it, she thought. He was just far too stubborn and too proud for his own good sometimes.

Her father called her back a couple of hours after she’d left the message. She could tell he was surprised but didn’t comment on it. 

“I’ll be in Smallville the day after tomorrow,” he said. 

“What time will you be arriving?” she asked.

“Around three, I suppose.”

“Will you stay with us?” 

She wasn’t surprised when he said no. Given the last time he and Jonathan had spoken, she doubted he wanted to be anywhere near her husband. 

She sent Jonathan to the Co-op in Granville about half an hour before her father was due to arrive. She hadn’t told him she’d called her father and was hoping he wouldn’t have to find out. 

Unfortunately, Clark arrived home at the same time. When Jonathan found out, upset was a bit of an understatement. While he wasn’t angry at her for talking to her father, he was clearly unhappy that she’d talked to the man about their finances. 

When they went to bed that night, he again made his feelings quite clear on the subject.

“I told you I didn’t want to involve him and now he’s here.”

“Jonathan …”

“No, Martha. I’m sorry, but you should have talked to me about this before you called him.”

She glared at her husband. They had had a few fights over the years they’d been married but this one was bad. 

“You know, if it wasn’t for you and your stupid pride, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place!”

“You think I should have accepted Lex’s offer last year?”

“He meant well.”

“Don’t you remember what happened when Lionel offered those deals to Jack Bell and Tom Guy?”

Of course she remembered. Jonathan had raged about it for weeks. Still, just because Lionel had done the dirty didn’t mean Lex would. 

“Lex is not his father!”

“I still don’t trust him! I don’t like him and I don’t like him anywhere near our son!”

She huffed. “I’m not going to argue this with you again. At least I was able to swallow my pride and talk to my father and he is going to help us.”

“I’m not going to accept it.”

She turned the full force of her glare on him. Jonathan knew better than to dig his heels in when she was that angry with him. 

“Oh you will, Jonathan Kent, or you will be sleeping on the couch for the next month!”


End file.
